2015 celebrates the China-ASEAN Year of Maritime Cooperation and the first year to comprehensively implement the Belt and Road initiative. The 12th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) and the 12th China-ASEAN Business & Investment Summit (CABIS) are held from Sept 18 to 21. Both events feature “Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Creating a New Blueprint for Maritime Cooperation” as the theme, and following closely the progress of upgrading the China-ASEAN FTA, highlight international capacity cooperation and promote the China-ASEAN Information Harbor and other major projects to be grounded and implemented. The two events, based on the 10+1 cooperation between China and ASEAN and open to cooperation among RCEP countries and countries along the Belt and the Road, coordinate with the efforts of the WTO to promote trade facilitation, facilitate the friendly cooperation between China and ASEAN to score new progress and translate documents on consensus on promoting policy coordination, facilities connection, unimpeded trade, monetary circulation and people-to-people exchanges into real actions. I. Heads of state and government attend the two events as usual, pooling consensus on building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and upgrading friendly cooperation between China and ASEAN to a new pinnacle.

Heads of state and government of China and 6 ASEAN countries make kind attendance at the CAEXPO and the CABIS, including Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of China, Deputy Prime Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn of Thailand, Vice President Sai Mauk Kham of Myanmar, Deputy Prime Minister Somsava LENGSAVAD of Lao PDR, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam and Mr. Sun Chantol, Senior Minister and Minister of Commerce of Cambodia. Additionally, Pehin Dato Haji Yagaya Bakar, minister of industry and primary resources of Brunei Darussalam, Mr. Thomas Trikasih Lembong, minister of trade of Indonesia, Dato’ Sri Ong Ka Chuan, minister II of the ministry of international trade and industry of Malaysia, Mr. LEE Yi Shyan, senior minister of state of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of National Development of Singapore, Mr. Pociano C. Manalo, Jr, under-secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, Mr. Lim Hong Hin, deputy secretary-general of the ASEAN, Mr. Moon Dao Do, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Energy of the Republic of Korea and Mr. Yi Xiaozhun, deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization have attended the two events. Altogether 269 ministerial VVIPs have made attendance, 3 more ones than the previous session, with 129 ones from ASEAN countries and countries beyond the China-ASEAN region, up by 129 ones compared with last year.

On the theme of “Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Creating a New Blueprint for Maritime Cooperation”, a series of high-end friendly exchanges events have been arranged. Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli held 3 bilateral meetings and talks with the visiting ASEAN heads of state and government and joined a group photo with entrepreneurs of China and the 10 ASEAN countries. Chinese and ASEAN heads of state and government and heads of delegation of all countries made VVIP tours to the CAEXPO exhibition pavilions and attended and addressed the CAEXPO & CABIS opening ceremony. Being the Country of Honor for the 12th CAEXPO, Thailand arranged diverse programs and activities during the fair period, including the inaugural ceremony for its national pavilion which was presented by Chinese and Thai heads of state and government, roundtable talks with the visiting leader of Thailand, a promotion conference on Thailand and cultural exchange programs. The Symposium on Trade Facilitation and Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of WTO, the China-ASEAN Commerce Ministers’ Luncheon and a series of ministerial negotiations and meetings on other cooperation fields.

The visiting heads of state and government and ministers of all countries concerned highly acclaimed the achievements of friendly cooperation between China and ASEAN and the roles played by the CAEXPO, converging broad consensus on building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. They requested to coordinate the Belt and Road initiative with the development strategies of their own countries, deepen cooperation via the CAEXPO as a platform and jointly press ahead with construction of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, with an aim to achieve win-win cooperation of higher quality and shape the China-ASEAN Community of Common Destiny.